June Newsletter

My June newsletter is up and available! You can click here to read it or head over to the Newsletters tab if you want to catch up on any letters you've missed. 

December Newsletter and Exciting News!

Merry Christmas, everyone! I've been enjoying getting into the Christmas spirit for the last few weeks (yes, I am "one of those people" who put up their Christmas decorations weeks before Thanksgiving!). I love Christmas, and I especially love having a green Christmas--heresy, I know, coming from someone who spent the first 26 or so years of her life in northern Wisconsin--but I just don't love the cold and wet and all the shoveling!

Anyways, my December newsletter is ready for your reading enjoyment, including some very exciting news! You can click here to read it, or head over to the Newsletters tab and click the link for December 2018.

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas! 

August Newsletter

It's been several weeks of craziness, but the first term of school is officially more than half over! And I even managed to carve out time to write a newsletter AND get it sent out before the next month arrives...exciting stuff, folks! 😊 You can click here to read my newsletter, or, if you've missed a newsletter or two, you can hop over to the Newsletter page (click the tab right above where you're reading right now) and catch up on what's going on! 

I'm Not in Kansas (or Wisconsin) Anymore!

Any place that you visit (or move to) will have little quirks—things that are different than you’re used to. Ukarumpa is no exception to this; there are several things that, when I first arrived, took a while to get used to. After three years of living in Ukarumpa, being in the US for several months and not using or needing these things was even more odd!

June Newsletter

On the way to join in the celebration!

I'm back in Ukarumpa and school starts up soon (just over two weeks!). A couple weeks ago, I had the opportunity to go out to a village and celebrate the dedication of the revised New Testament and five newly translated Old Testament books in the Binumarien tok ples (heart language). You can click here to read this month's newsletter and see some photos from the dedication.

The Bare Necessities

When I returned from furlough a few weeks ago, I noticed that there were a few things missing from my house (or that I had missed during furlough) that I considered necessary or life (or just to save my sanity!) here in Papua New Guinea (PNG). I wrote a similar blog post way back when I first arrived in PNG in 2014 (you can read it here), but that post was based more on village living than being in Ukarumpa, which is where I live now (and have lived for most of the last four years).

Just Another Day...

Most days in Ukarumpa are fairly routine (or as routine as they can be when you're a teacher and work with children). However, occasionally something out of the ordinary happens--like when a baby pig gets onto the high school campus.

 

Shortly after the pig was spotted, there was a chase and the pig was caught by a student. (Missionary kids (MKs) are very handy people to have around when a pig gets loose at your school.) The pig's photo is now posted on the community message board, with instructions as to whom to call to reclaim the pig. You just can't make this stuff up, people! 

April Newsletter

I'm heading back to Papua New Guinea very soon! Next Monday, the 9th, as a matter of fact! You can click here to read my latest newsletter and get the details on my flights and what I'll be doing when I return to Ukarumpa.

February Newsletter

Scraping coconut in the village

February is here, which means that my time in the States is getting short! Click here to read my latest newsletter for a short update on my mission trip to Mexico last month (or you can check the last post on my blog for more pictures and details), as well as an update on my finances and plans to return to Papua New Guinea! 

Mexican Blessings

 I was blessed to be able to go back to Mexico at the beginning of January. It's been four years since I last went down to Monterrey, so I was really excited to jump in the van (okay, maybe not that excited about the van ride, but you know what I mean!) and head south. We left on 5 January, which I think was about the coldest day of the year! Several people on the team had a lot to deal with just before we left, with things like the starter on one of the vans going out, a broken furnace, frozen pipes, and a backed up sewer. We were so thankful for your prayers!

December Update

Merry Christmas, everyone! 

I hope you are as excited for Christmas as I am--it's my favourite time of year! (Even though it's much too cold here!) I love the Christmas lights and the Christmas music and all the cheesy Christmas movies! :) 

October Newsletter

My latest newsletter is up! Click here to read about what I've been up to during the last couple months!

An amaryllis from my yard in Ukarumpa

August Newsletter

My latest newsletter is posted for your reading enjoyment! Click here to read the latest edition of Amanda’s Adventures!

A tiger lily from my yard

If You Take a Missionary to Walmart

If you take a missionary to Walmart (or any store with more than three aisles), they’re sure to need plenty of moral support, so don’t let them go off on their own. If you do, you may come upon them curled in the fetal position under a rack of clothes, moaning softly to themselves. Once you’re in the store, take a look at their list. The store has probably (almost certainly) changed in the two+ years they’ve been away, so they won’t be able to find anything. Be prepared for one of two experiences: wanting to grab everything on the list as quickly as possible and get out, or walk through each aisle and look at everything. Everything, folks. (That was me.)

Furlough Firsts

Being back in the US after three years in Papua New Guinea was a little shocking at first—not having to think about things like “Where did this water come from?”, “Don’t forget the clutch!”, or “Should I hang the clothes out, or put them under the house?” So here are a few things that I'm really enjoying about being in the US (in no particular order):

·         Fresh, squeaky cheese curds!

Skinny Sweatshirts and Toads

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted a blog post, and even longer since I’ve written one about my kids, so, for your reading pleasure, here are some of the things my kids have said recently!

One cold morning before ESL (English as a Second Language) started; a grade 5 student: “Miss Nutt, these seats are cold. I think we should buy new furniture that is warm and fuzzy!”

A Celebration!

What do you think of when you think of missions or missionaries? Exotic foods, beautiful scenery, big bugs, daily excitement? Well, there is some of that, but much of life is just like in the US (or Canada or the UK…you get the idea!)—get up, go to work, go home at the end of the day, make (or reheat) supper, do some grading/lesson planning, go to bed, repeat. On a day-to-day basis, I know that I personally tend to forget WHY I am here and doing what I do in PNG instead of in the US.

Top 10 Things to Do In (and Around) Ukarumpa

In no particular order…

1. Hamburger Night—head on down to the Teen Centre on certain Friday nights during the school term for a tasty egg burger and chips (fries) or a taco salad and milkshake!

The yellow team pulling on last year's Primary School
Sports Day

2. Any and all school functions—band/choir concerts, plays, sports tournaments, Sports Day, Carnival…some of these events even have food/snacks for sale! What a deal! J

You Might Be a Missionary If...

-the party breaks up at 9:30 and everyone is yawning and half-asleep because it’s past “missionary midnight” (aka 9 pm).

-you find yourself searching for recipes that you can use pukpuk (crocodile) in.

-you get excited when you find a new recipe for pukpuk.

-you pick bugs out of the rice, flour, and various other dry ingredients without batting an eye.

-you aren’t really bothered by the thought that you very likely missed quite a few bugs in said dry ingredients.

Like a Rubbermaid

I love all my kids, but the ones in Grade 6 are really something! There are only three—one is very quiet and doesn’t really say anything unless she needs help with something, but the other two make up for her and about ten other kids! Most of these quotes are conversations between the other two kids, a boy and a girl, who are masters at squabbling; shortly after the majority of these statements, arguments broke out…especially about Thor…ain’t nobody gonna mess with my superhero! J

-“Miss Nutt, I forgot how to spell my last name!”